Armenia Medical Volunteer Support

I am going to Armenia as a medical volunteer for the next 3 weeks 

See my story below ❤️

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I am a Christian and my faith in God is the foundation of my life

I am 3/4 Armenian  

I am a descendant of two survivors of the Armenian Genocide.

I was born in the United States of America. 

My grandfather on my mother’s side was a young boy and escaped with some family members to Syria and later to the US.

My grandfather on my father’s side was a young boy as well and was rescued by American Protestant missionaries and taken to an orphanage in Beirut, Lebanon.

Both of their stories are miraculous stories of survival if you ever want to hear them, feel free to ask.

My father grew up in Beirut and my mother grew up in the US. They met while both were studying in Armenia and married. They eventually moved back to the US.

My brother and I were born in the US. Armenian was our first language and we later learned English. We grew up in a thriving Armenian community in the Boston area. We went to an Armenian church and Armenian elementary school. 

Over those years, my mother came to know a deeper and more intimate faith in God and Jesus as her Savior. This was a game changer for our family and future and we all cane to this place of faith eventually. I am so grateful.

We later moved from the Boston area and my brother and I went to a Christian boarding school in our later school years. God used this to further form us as individuals and in our Christian faith.

We both went out of state to college. I studied Nursjng at a Christian college in Michigan. The interest in nursing was born out of a God-given love, empathy, and compassion for people and wanting to help people - and knowing so much suffering can come from physical/medical challenges, I wanted to understand this world so I could help them. 

I lived in Chicago, South Carolina, and North Carolina since undergrad.

I have worked as a Registered Nurse in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Operating Room, and Post-Anesthesia Care Unit. 

In 2008, I went to Armenia as a volunteer with Birthright Armenia and Armenian Volunteer Corps. I had the opportunity to see many regions of Armenia which was an incredible and breathtaking experience. I had the honor of going to Artsakh twice. This was very special and I will always treasure these memories. 

As a volunteer, I worked with an orthopedic pediatric surgeon and taught English classes to young professionals in the capital city of Yerevan for 2 months and then volunteered at a Free Health Clinic and a children’s orphanage in the smaller city of Gyumri the next month and a half. 

The following year I went to graduate school to become a Family Nurse Practitioner at Duke University. 

And a year after that, I returned to the Boston area. I not only returned to a part of the country that I loved and missed, but also to an area with many Armenians. It has been great to reconnect with many fellow Armenians over these years here. 

I have gained experience as a Nurse Practitioner in Primary Care, Telemedicine, Community Health Center, and other areas as well as experience working with children, adults, and elderly and am also a Certified Lactation Counselor. 

My Christian faith defines who I am and my Armenian heritage is also a very significant part of who I am.

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My heart has been hurting with my Armenian people during the last 7 weeks as our soldiers fought for our ancient homelands of Artsakh. Seeing and gearing of thousands of homes destroyed, two hospitals and over 60 schools getting hit, and an ancient and very special church being hit, but most of all losing many of our young men and then the many more that had severe wounds or injuries or loss of limbs or major burns.

Armenians all over the world rose up in support of our people however they could during this intense time of tragedy and war. People donated monetarily and started shipping needed items and doing whatever else they could to help. Incredible and ongoing efforts have been made to send much needed medical supplies as there are so many wounded and injured. And many went to help fight in the war. And when the need was made known that medical volunteers were needed there were people that started volunteering to go.

I started seeing the needs for volunteer nurses and volunteer medical providers a few weeks into the war. My heart lept the first time I saw this at the thought of going to help. Soon after, I decided to take some time to consider and pray about going. And as time went on I got closer and closer to making the decision and preparing for a trip like this. I originally had been thinking to go last week but then got news of the war “ending”. 

The way this happened was not good news in so many ways due to the results and repercussions which are devastating for us. It was only positive in it bringing an end to all the majority of the death and destruction by Azerbaijan and Turkey and hired Syrian jihadists. 

I had originally planned to come here last week and was on the phone with airlines when I got the news of the war ending. And as a result there was a lot of outrage among Armenians in Yerevan and some major civil unrest due to the developments. I decided to put my plans on pause as I was informed things were very chaotic here and the situation seemed very fluid and it was unknown where things would go. Honestly, it was a really hard week with the news that deeply grieved us all - like a pit in the stomach, punch in the gut, and no words for the deep sadness and loss for our people and pure injustice in all of this. 

So as I rounded back with the leaders over the medical volunteers I was in touch with about volunteering and reassessed the situation in Armenia, I decided to revisit the plans of going late last week and over the weekend. And earlier this week made the decision to go, God willing, for 3 weeks. The doors have been wide open and I decided to walk through them. It was a step of faith for me but I know that the need is there and I have a desire to help.

Our soldiers and their families did the hardest part in all of this. These men and women are heros and I want to honor them and help care for them as they heal and recover and pray for them too as I believe that God is our help and our healer.

And covid has been rampant here now too as many precautions went out the window with the war and suffering.

I look forward to this experience here and all that is ahead. I just left on November 18th and arrived here on November 19th.

I would like to ask for prayers for my journey and my time here. And most of all for my fellow Armenians here and all over the world, and most of all for our soldiers and refugees (over 100,000) from Artsakh. And for all of us as we grieve — and then as we lift our heads and come together to unite and look forward to the future and to building our nation and people all while looking to God for help and strength. 

Our Christian faith is foundational to our culture and a large part of who we are as a people. We were the 1st Christian nation in 301 AD and our faith must continue to be what guides us forward. 

Thank you for all your prayers and support already. I invite you to follow me on this journey ❤️ Let’s see what God has in store!

(I will be posting updates on Facebook, Instagram, and also in the stories section of both sites.)

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There has also already been much generosity with covering the expenses of medical volunteers which I am so grateful for and which made it much easier to come. If any of you feel led and would like to help support me financially in any way in this endeavor as I am not working during this time and away from home, you can do this here or on Venmo (@Arevig-Setian) or on GoFundMe (gf.me/u/y9dr3v).

I will also be keeping my eyes out for any needs God highlights to me or ways I can be a blessing to others while I am here.

If you want to know other ways to support or have any questions feel free to reach out to me directly. Feel free to follow my journey. 

A few other good organizations you can donate directly to for Armenian relief efforts are -

Armenian Missionary Association of America
https://amaa.org

Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund
https://armenianwoundedheroes.com/donate-awhf/

Armenia Fund https://armeniafund.ejoinme.org/donate

Hayastan All Armenian Fund
https://www.himnadram.org/en